An Introduction to Modern European History: The Idiot's Guide to Stehle
A long, long time ago...Greeks and then Romans lived and formed societies based upon agriculture/ farming. Cities were sustained primarily by farmers and it was in these fishy Balkan cities where ideas (especially about Christianity and how we interpret our world, "Graeco-Roman") emerged that would influence European thought and culture for thousands of years! To begin at the beginning, Greek society was polytheistic, human-centered (anthropocentric*) and founded upon idealism. Aristotle and Plato were Greece's two most significant philosophers: Plato believing that what we observe is only a reflection of a more perfect world (deductive reasoning, understanding adopted by the Catholic church), Aristotle believing that knowledge can be gained through observation of the physical world (inductive reasoning, understanding adopted by partakers in the scientific revolution along with others). Every famous guy we read about is essentially either Platonian in his beliefs or Aristotlian (?) Also, democracy first emerged in Greek city-states (obviously).
On to Roman heritage
...Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks except that they seemed to value individualism and character over idealism (in art especially), and although they were expansionist and conquered a great many nations, they allowed those nations to retain their cultures and traditions. Romans came up with the theory of "the law" (nobody is above the law, government officials are responsible for the administration of the law etc.), i.e. Roman Law, which is important later. Roman Law refers to a single universal set of laws that governs an entire state or nation, as opposed to common law, which allows for laws to be more implicity understood, (judges in England will later make decisions based upon accepted common law) Roman Law presided over all regions of the Roman empire as the government moved away from democracy and towards an emperor or prinicipate. This worked for three centuries despite corruption. For this reason, Roman peace or "Pax Romana" would be admired by princes and monarchs.
The Romans can be understood as the vital link between ancient Mediterranean culture and the culture of the Middle Ages. The most important thing Romans did in their many conquests was spread Christianity, arguably the base of European culture and the essential catalyst in European history. At first Christianity was all about humility, self sacrifice, and the spiritual kingdom. Since there was no strong unifying force, councils of elders or presbyters administered congregations. The turning point was Roman Emperor Constantine's supposed conversion in 312, which brought new power to the Church. Overseers became bishops, and the bishop of Rome became the Pope (the sole symbol of unity after Rome's collapse). But, in the Eastern Orthodox church (which would shrivel up eventually), emperors still held sway over Popes. On a random note, church councils were in charge of solving doctrinal conflicts. Some Church fathers were Jerome, who translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate and Augustine** who advocated dualism or the idea of heavenly and earthly "cities". It is from Augustine that the concepts of original sin and predestination first emerged; his works "City of God" and "Confessions" would heavily influence church doctrine.Also, it was during this period that trinitarianism first emerged. (look these things up if you don't know them!)
We can now get into the Middle Ages! Here we go: the Middle Ages can be measured as the 1000 years from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. "Phase 1" (from the 5-8 centuries or 400-700 AD), was a time of marked instability, essentially agricultural. While "Phase 2" can be understood as a time of consolidation, technology, and population growth. In the year 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor (the first of many powerful medieval monarchs). Here's a bit of the technology and "advancement" mentioned above: three field farming, towns, military expansion, the crusades bring back mathematics and greek writings.
For the better part of the Middle Ages, Chrsitianity was the strongest loyalty (until the development of countries, reformation, nationalism). What Catholicism became essentially was a religious hierarchy "the Great Chain of Being", with little bugs being farthest from God and least enlightened and the Pope being closest to God, acting as an "overlord". During this period the church faced no real competition from other denominations. Peasants were made to work church land and monastic life was considered the highest, most noble (and most comfortable, surprisingly) vocation. The new wealth and power of the church along with a string of strong-minded and politically adept popes led to reforms in the tenth and eleventh centures (900AD-1000AD), including simony or the buying and selling of relics or sacred objects. With the rediscovery of some of Aristotle's writings came a conflict with the Church. They challenged the (very nearly Platonian) concepts of Augustinian dualism. Thomas Aquinas, a forerunner of the intellectual movement known as scholasticism tried to reconcile Augustine's faith with Aristotle's reason. Nominalists, members of the scholastic movement, believed the two forms of knowledge existed in separate realms. I don't think I really need to talk about architecture etc. here...
Meanwhilie...farmers began to realize the difficulties of remaing independent and made contracts to labor under wealthy lords, working their land in exchange for protection from thugs. The estates were self sufficient and "serfs" were legally bound to the land. This system is called manorialism. It alone governed the way that European society was organized for a couple hundred years, before the emergence of Kings and cities. Another kind of deal that is closely related to manorialism involves pledges of loyalty and alliance made between wealthy warrior lords or feudalism. The "feudal pyramid" refers to differing levels of wealth and power amongst lords. The most powerful lord would inevitably become King.
The feudal system would ultimately be challenged by the formation of towns, which survived through interdependent economic structures and appeals to a king or to a wealthy land lord for protection. Artisans organized themselves into exclusive guilds. It was from these guilds that some of the most powerfull and wealthy families in Europe emerged, forming regional oligarchies and prinicipates. Townspeople could live under the King's protection as long as they paid their taxes, and educated burghers were sometimes given administrative/ tax collecting positions, as they were not so greedy or ambitious and noble lords. Still, the power of nobles was undeniable; in the High middle ages three broad legal orders emerged: the clergy, the nobility, and the commons. Nobles sat on parliament and were generally responsible for regulating the use of tax money, and would often award it to a King in exchange for concessions of power.
to be continued..."The Crisis of the Middle Ages"
An Introduction to Modern European History: The Idiot's Guide to Stehle
A long, long time ago...Greeks and then Romans lived and formed societies based upon agriculture/ farming. Cities were sustained primarily by farmers and it was in these fishy Balkan cities where ideas (especially about Christianity and how we interpret our world, "Graeco-Roman") emerged that would influence European thought and culture for thousands of years! To begin at the beginning, Greek society was polytheistic, human-centered (anthropocentric*) and founded upon idealism. Aristotle and Plato were Greece's two most significant philosophers: Plato believing that what we observe is only a reflection of a more perfect world (deductive reasoning, understanding adopted by the Catholic church), Aristotle believing that knowledge can be gained through observation of the physical world (inductive reasoning, understanding adopted by partakers in the scientific revolution along with others). Every famous guy we read about is essentially either Platonian in his beliefs or Aristotlian (?) Also, democracy first emerged in Greek city-states (obviously).
On to Roman heritage
...Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks except that they seemed to value individualism and character over idealism (in art especially), and although they were expansionist and conquered a great many nations, they allowed those nations to retain their cultures and traditions. Romans came up with the theory of "the law" (nobody is above the law, government officials are responsible for the administration of the law etc.), i.e. Roman Law, which is important later. Roman Law refers to a single universal set of laws that governs an entire state or nation, as opposed to common law, which allows for laws to be more implicity understood, (judges in England will later make decisions based upon accepted common law) Roman Law presided over all regions of the Roman empire as the government moved away from democracy and towards an emperor or prinicipate. This worked for three centuries despite corruption. For this reason, Roman peace or "Pax Romana" would be admired by princes and monarchs.The Romans can be understood as the vital link between ancient Mediterranean culture and the culture of the Middle Ages. The most important thing Romans did in their many conquests was spread Christianity, arguably the base of European culture and the essential catalyst in European history. At first Christianity was all about humility, self sacrifice, and the spiritual kingdom. Since there was no strong unifying force, councils of elders or presbyters administered congregations. The turning point was Roman Emperor Constantine's supposed conversion in 312, which brought new power to the Church. Overseers became bishops, and the bishop of Rome became the Pope (the sole symbol of unity after Rome's collapse). But, in the Eastern Orthodox church (which would shrivel up eventually), emperors still held sway over Popes. On a random note, church councils were in charge of solving doctrinal conflicts. Some Church fathers were Jerome, who translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate and Augustine** who advocated dualism or the idea of heavenly and earthly "cities". It is from Augustine that the concepts of original sin and predestination first emerged; his works "City of God" and "Confessions" would heavily influence church doctrine.Also, it was during this period that trinitarianism first emerged. (look these things up if you don't know them!)
We can now get into the Middle Ages! Here we go: the Middle Ages can be measured as the 1000 years from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. "Phase 1" (from the 5-8 centuries or 400-700 AD), was a time of marked instability, essentially agricultural. While "Phase 2" can be understood as a time of consolidation, technology, and population growth. In the year 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor (the first of many powerful medieval monarchs). Here's a bit of the technology and "advancement" mentioned above: three field farming, towns, military expansion, the crusades bring back mathematics and greek writings.
For the better part of the Middle Ages, Chrsitianity was the strongest loyalty (until the development of countries, reformation, nationalism). What Catholicism became essentially was a religious hierarchy "the Great Chain of Being", with little bugs being farthest from God and least enlightened and the Pope being closest to God, acting as an "overlord". During this period the church faced no real competition from other denominations. Peasants were made to work church land and monastic life was considered the highest, most noble (and most comfortable, surprisingly) vocation. The new wealth and power of the church along with a string of strong-minded and politically adept popes led to reforms in the tenth and eleventh centures (900AD-1000AD), including simony or the buying and selling of relics or sacred objects. With the rediscovery of some of Aristotle's writings came a conflict with the Church. They challenged the (very nearly Platonian) concepts of Augustinian dualism. Thomas Aquinas, a forerunner of the intellectual movement known as scholasticism tried to reconcile Augustine's faith with Aristotle's reason. Nominalists, members of the scholastic movement, believed the two forms of knowledge existed in separate realms. I don't think I really need to talk about architecture etc. here...
Meanwhilie...farmers began to realize the difficulties of remaing independent and made contracts to labor under wealthy lords, working their land in exchange for protection from thugs. The estates were self sufficient and "serfs" were legally bound to the land. This system is called manorialism. It alone governed the way that European society was organized for a couple hundred years, before the emergence of Kings and cities. Another kind of deal that is closely related to manorialism involves pledges of loyalty and alliance made between wealthy warrior lords or feudalism. The "feudal pyramid" refers to differing levels of wealth and power amongst lords. The most powerful lord would inevitably become King.
The feudal system would ultimately be challenged by the formation of towns, which survived through interdependent economic structures and appeals to a king or to a wealthy land lord for protection. Artisans organized themselves into exclusive guilds. It was from these guilds that some of the most powerfull and wealthy families in Europe emerged, forming regional oligarchies and prinicipates. Townspeople could live under the King's protection as long as they paid their taxes, and educated burghers were sometimes given administrative/ tax collecting positions, as they were not so greedy or ambitious and noble lords. Still, the power of nobles was undeniable; in the High middle ages three broad legal orders emerged: the clergy, the nobility, and the commons. Nobles sat on parliament and were generally responsible for regulating the use of tax money, and would often award it to a King in exchange for concessions of power.
to be continued..."The Crisis of the Middle Ages"